Fanny Churberg began her training in Helsinki and subsequently traveled to Dusseldorf and Paris for further study. During her brief career, she painted primarily landscapes and still-lifes, and unlike other female Finnish artists who studied in Paris, she only exhibited in Finland. She earned the Premier Prix Dukaat from the Finnish Art Society in 1879, but abandoned painting around 1880. However, she remained involved in the arts, writing art criticism and publishing articles on feminism and Finnish art.

A fully illustrated catalogue, Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900, has been published by the American Federation of Arts and Yale University Press. Along with an art-historical overview by curator Laurence Madeline, the catalogue includes essays by Jane R. Becker, collections management associate, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Richard Kendall, former curator at large, Clark Art Institute; Bridget Alsdorf, associate professor, History of Art, Princeton University; and Vibeke Hansen, curator, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo.